Magical Mornings

Being a mom I have revisited many ideas that I have had over the years.  It is just what happens.  All of sudden, certain things that you thought were 100% true - aren't exactly... Things you were 100% sure you would never do as parent (like let you kids what Dora for hours at a time because you desperately needed to sit on the couch and do nothing or you would die of exhaustion...) you find yourself doing (hopefully rarely) out of desperation.  And you finally get that whole "love" thing as in there is no love quite like the love you have for your kids - absolutely NONE!  It is unending, exhilarating, exhausting but the truly the greatest love of all.

The other thing I now finally get - that whole birth order hullabaloo...  I was a first child.  I never got all the complaining of the second, third, fourth children of the world.  I had no doubt my parents loved both me and my brother enormously... never understood why he had a doubt.  Then I had kids.  Well, first I had one kid and then I had a second... now I get the birth order mishagas (yiddish for craziness).

The first kid comes and "rocks" your world.  And is the center of your world.  And there is no doubt that you love him/her.  Of course you do everything wrong - you are insecure, not confident and sleep deprived out of your mind - but it is awesome.  I can remember the first year of Jonah's life - it was HARD but amazing.  I had to sleep with him in the rocker recliner chair almost every night because the kids would not sleep (OK not much has changed on that front...) but I would not have changed one minute of it.

By the time we got Vera, life was very different.  Ummm, I had cancer.  Jocelyn was making her run for partner at the law firm.  We also had a very spirited two year old running around.  It was different.

But also amazing.  I knew the minute I held her how she belonged in my arms.  I knew the first night that I put her in the pack-n-play in Chicago and she put her head down and went to sleep and slept almost 5 hours, that she was my magical gift.  There are some things a mother just knows.

Vera was such a good baby.  Slept at night no problem.  Slept at nap time no problem.  Drank her bottle no problem.  Took a pacifier!  Ate her food. 

Clearly a second child!

I write that as I smile.  The smile only a mother with at least two children can smile.  I know those of you who know what I am talking about are smiling too!

Here's the thing, with Jonah we went to music, swimming, story time, mommy & me and oh so much more - just the two of us.  We did it all and then some.

It is a whole different world when you have two kids.  The "mommy & just me" time limited because it is "mommy & us" - now this is not such a bad thing.  Vera goes and does with Jonah and me all the time.  Vera rode a carousel before Jonah ever did.  She played miniature golf before Jonah ever did.  She played soccer before Jonah ever did.  She also did many more art projects and she went on many more adventures then Jonah did at an earlier age...  and she has been able to watch more TV and eat more treats... it is not all negative being the second child.

In the last few weeks, Vera finally has started taking her nap later (around 11am).  We have been having a blast while Jonah is at school playing - just Vera and mommy - it is awesome! 

Finally, this week, we started a class together - just Vera and me!  It is called Magical Mornings and it is at Jonah's school.  And for me, it was a magical morning.  Vera was soooooo happy!  She has been going to Jonah's school all summer and this fall and every time we leave, she gets so upset - she wants to stay and play.  She loves it there.  On Tuesday, while Jonah was at his Terrific Tuesdays class - we were having the most Magical Morning ever!  Vera loved the classrooms (we got to visit two).  She touched, investigated and played with everything.  She played with a little friend in the kitchen corner (rather than sit in circle time), she read a book, she hugged the stuffed animals, she did art, she did music, and she climbed and crawled over and under all the equipment in the motion room.  They even served her favorite snack of ALL time - goldfish crackers!!! 

It was the best morning ever.  I am so excited to spend Tuesday mornings with my Vera.  And Vera is quite something these days.  Walking, talking, playing and doing everything at amost 19 mos.  She has this awesome personality - she is super sweet and affectionate but super opinionated with a furrowed brow that can take you back a step.  She knows how to say No and Yes and uses them appropriately and is quite commanding at doing so.  She is a second child.  She is completely and totally loved.  She is awesome.

But like I said, I have a new respect for kids in the lower birth order status.  Time and resources change as more kids get added to the family and sometimes it might feel like there is less to go around.  What I know as a mom, the love that we feel for our kids - there is never less of that - only more.  It's like after the first you think you could not love anymore than this - but then you get the second and you realize the love for your children is unending and infinite - I think it is biological and part of the "survival of the fittest" theory.  You got to love the kids because otherwise all that mishagas they put you through - well you'd throw them out the window... seriously!


This post is for you, Vera.  I love you.  I love our Tuesday mornings.  You may be my second child, but you will always be my one and only Vera!

This post is for all those second children out there too - give your moms a break - they really do love you a lot - they were just freaking tired!

This post is also for my brother.  I think I get it a little bit now.  But seriously Michael, we all love you and have loved you forever!  And there were some benefits to being second in line - after me - everything you did was great since I was always getting in to so much trouble!!!!